


Biscochitos y Farolitos

by calaverita



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Baking, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Gentle Kissing, Jesse McCree & Genji Shimada Are Best Friends, Latino Jesse McCree, M/M, New Mexico, Reminiscing, Traditions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 12:19:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17898329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calaverita/pseuds/calaverita
Summary: McCree and Genji rent a house in Taos, New Mexico for the winter, and Jesse introduces Genji to some New Mexican holiday traditions!I originally wrote this in December for the McGenji Winter Exchange on Namibulous's McGenji discord server.





	Biscochitos y Farolitos

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Brosequartz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brosequartz/gifts).



> The piece is largely based on my experiences growing up visiting my abuelitos during the holidays in New Mexico (where they live, we call the paper lanterns luminarias so THERE). I know Blizz just announced an Overwatch cookbook so I decided to post this now, especially since I applied to a writing position a there with a very small excerpt of this a few months ago. It's kinda jarring to see your HC's actually come true?

The snow blanketed each adobe roof like powdered sugar on a beignet, bringing another cold front into Taos. Through one house’s frosted windows, light persevered and shone directly in Genji Shimada’s eyes as he sipped his green chili hot cocoa at the kitchen counter. Next to him, Jesse McCree chewed on a reheated buttered flour tortilla leftover from the previous night’s dinner. They had returned to their home in Taos, New Mexico for the winter. The season had made them both sleepy men, the circles under their eyes darker than usual.

“I know it’s early, but… do you think we could set up the _luminarias_ today?” Genji asked as he peeked over his mug with a glint of hope in his eyes. He rarely wore his mask while at home; it was just him and Jesse, after all.

“Well, I reckon today’s as good a day as any.” McCree stole a slurp of cocoa from Genji’s mug before smooching his cheek. “Everything should still be on the workbench out back.” The two of them had already bought supplies for making _luminarias_ a few days ago, but due to inclement weather, they had to keep postponing their outdoor decorating.  
When McCree and Genji checked out at the register, the _Taoseño_ shopkeeper insisted on calling the brown paper bags _farolitos_. McCree, having lived in both southern and northern parts of New Mexico, didn’t have a preference in the _luminaria_ vs. _farolito_ debate. But when he first introduced Genji to the traditional decoration, he had said _luminaria_ , and it stuck. On the back patio stood their workbench; it, too, had come with the property. Genji and Jesse made it their own by stringing lights over the top of the bench and around the legs. On the surface of the bench sat two sacks of sand, a stack of brown paper lunch bags, and several 12-packs of flameless tealights. Next to it stood a floating wheelbarrow.

“Remind me again how we’re supposed to make these?” Genji asked as he shook a lunch bag open and sat it on the wood.

“I’ll show ya! First, open a bag, pour in two handfuls or so of sand, toss in a tealight, then we put it in the wheelbarrow. Don’t worry ‘bout makin’ the tealights perfect, we’ll adjust them once we get all the _luminarias_ on the roof.” McCree demonstrated the process.

“Simple.” Genji tore into a bag of sand and got to work alongside McCree, scooping sand with his non-prosthetic hand to avoid getting particulates in his joints.

“Now, traditionally, we’d use actual candles in the bags, but after the last time I tried that at the Swiss Base… well, you remember what happened.”  
Genji snorted and nuzzled his cheek. “How could I forget? Commander Reyes wouldn’t let an open flame burn unless it was at least 1000 meters from base.”

“Yeah, and we had to take our smoke breaks more than half a mile away.” After a few minutes of stocking bags with sand and tealights, the two of them had filled the wheelbarrow. “I’ll get the ladder, c’mon,” McCree said, veering around the back corner of the house. In the alley on the side of their property stood a small wooden shed where they kept most household tools and supplies. Belonging to the previous owner, the wood showed its age through cracks and bits of rot on the most exposed parts of the structure.

McCree threw open the door, which budged with an ailing creak. He could not remember the last time he had organized the shack’s supplies¬—most of them had come with the shed itself. Even so, it proved easy to pick the bright orange ladder out from the wares. With a grunt, McCree hauled it out of the tiny ancient door and drug it along the dead grass before resting it against the side of the house. Once he finished setting it up, he asked, “Y’wanna go first, or should I?”

“I’ll go, can you spot me?”

“Of course, honey, of course.”

“Thanks.” Genji left him with a thankful kiss on the cheek and stepped onto the ladder’s bottom step. With his cybernetic enhancements, he barely needed the ladder, but he took the opportunity to give McCree a nice view from below. The cowboy let out a whistle at the sight. “Like what you see?” Genji teased, wiggling his hips and winking down at McCree.

“Well, I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t,” McCree chuckled. He hoisted one bag up to Genji at a time until he had emptied the wheelbarrow. “That’s all a’ them.”

“I’ll let you up, hold on.” Genji finished climbing onto the roof to make room for McCree on the ladder. “Be careful, it’s rickety.”

“Always am,” the cowboy assured him. A chill blew past as McCree neared the top of the ladder, which he leaned into for support. Sure, it was only a few feet, but one could never take too much caution. Using his prosthetic arm for purchase, McCree hauled himself up onto the flat roof with a grunt. Genji looked down at him laying among the scattered _luminarias_. “Are you okay?” Concern colored his amused tone as he helped McCree get back on his feet.

“All good,” McCree reassured him with a kiss on the lips, which Genji returned as he brushed the snow off the cowboy’s overcoat. “Guess I don’t do as much climbin’ as I used to. Let’s get these lined up, now,” he grinned. The two of them got to work turning on each bag’s tealight and settling them into the sand.

Genji placed each one about a forearm’s length apart, then got an idea. “Hey.”

“Huh?” McCree looked over to Genji on the other side of the roof.

“Why don’t we see who can put up the most _luminarias_ the fastest?”

“You’re on.” Genji could hear the smile in McCree's voice. He quickly lined up the bags and hurried to the unlit ones to grab more. Every few bags, they would accidentally reach

for the same one. “And… done!” he announced.

“Not bad.” McCree stood up and dusted off his worn jeans before they reunited by the top of the ladder. Genji cupped McCree’s scruffy face and leaned in for a kiss.

“Your poor cheeks are so cold,” Genji murmured in between kisses, rubbing McCree’s jacketed arms up and down to warm him. “Let’s get you inside.”

“In a minute.” McCree pressed his lips against his cheek, then left a few more kisses along his jaw. “Let’s see what our handiwork looks like from below.” They parted, briefly to sit down and prepare for their return to the ground. McCree went first, sliding his butt off the adobe and hopping down into the fresh snow.

“Wow,” Genji breathed as he looked up, “It’s beautiful.” He rested his head against McCree’s and gently squeezed his waist as they admired the sight together.

“Wait ‘til ya see them at night. So, _biscochitos_?”

“Ugh, yes, I’ve been craving them all week.”

McCree and Genji gathered the ingredients together from the kitchen and set them on the counter. Before starting on either recipe, they floured the tiled surface, after which Genji snuck a pinch of sugar from the jar. “Hey, save a lil’ sugar for me, will ya?” McCree wrapped a hand around Genji’s hip to bring him closer. “You know I’ve always got sugar for you, cowboy,” Genji smirked, pulling him into a kiss. McCree’s lips, chapped from the dry winter, felt like home against his own. After a few soft kisses, they started to measure ingredients. “Did you preheat the oven?” Genji asked in the middle of crushing anise seeds for the _biscochitos_.

“Shoot, lemme do that.” While McCree turned on the oven, Genji combined the _biscochitos_ ’ wet ingredients into a bowl, then added the baking powder and flour. “So, you’ve made these, every year?” he asked.

“Except for two years ago, but aside from that, as long as I can remember. They ain’t our state cookie for nothin’.”

“I do remember you bringing them around the mess hall during the holidays; have you ever changed the recipe?” McCree shook his head in response. Once Genji had mixed the dough into a crust-like consistency, he took a rolling pin to it on the counter. “You know, in my first few years of Blackwatch, I dreaded the holiday season. It… reminded me of what had changed. How I had changed.” Genji pressed a star-shaped cookie cutter into the flattened dough, then did so once more. “When I saw how happy everyone looked, I envied them.” He paused. “I still did, even as I left. But things are different now.” His eyes smiled as they met McCree’s.  
Empathy surged through McCree. “When I first got dragged into Blackwatch, I felt the same. Alone ‘n unsure if I could trust anyone. But folks like Reyes and Captain Amari… they reminded me of what it meant to have a family again.” The oven beeped to indicate it had reached the optimal temperature, taking them out of the moment. “Are those cookies ready?”

“Let me dip them first.” Genji took the ready pieces of dough and placed them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before setting them on the cookie sheet. McCree joined him in preparing the cookies for their time in the oven. Once Genji slid the sheet into the range and set the timer for fifteen minutes, he dusted off his hands.

“Job well done,” McCree remarked. “Now, we wait.” They both stood there for a moment, eyes on the digital clock.

“Why don’t we warm up on the couch?” Genji suggested  
McCree smiled at the idea. “Sounds like a plan to me.” Genji vaulted over the couch at the beginning of their living room and patted his thigh for McCree. “Hop on.”

“Don’t mind if I do.” With a prim smile, McCree made himself comfortable on Genji’s lap, resting contentedly against his chest.  
Genji cleared his throat, “So, this is what you meant by saving some sugar?”  
Instead of an answer, McCree offered a coy smile and cupped Genji’s face as he pecked his other cheek. Genji buried his face in McCree’s messy waves of hair to sniff his curls. He smelled like the piñon wood that burned in their fireplace, warm and crisp. The scent of cinnamon wafted through the air. After what only seemed like a few minutes, the timer beeped. “Don’t get up, I’ll grab the cookies.” McCree patted Genji’s cheek and kissed him on the forehead, fingers brushing through his hair as he rose to his feet. “I’ll chill some glasses for the milk,” Genji chimed. Once both the _biscochitos_ and their cups had sufficiently cooled, Genji poured some milk into each glass while McCree emptied the cookie sheet’s contents onto a plate.

Donning their overcoats, Genji and McCree shuffled outside together with the pile of _biscochitos_. Fresh snow brought in by the cold front crunched beneath their winter boots. When they finally turned around to look up, a smile spread across both of their faces. The _luminarias_ shone bright like blazing nebulas atop the roof, contained by simple paper bags. Taking in the sight, they crunched on the milk-dipped _biscochitos_ , which crumbled with each bite. “Incredible,” Genji whispered. Seeing the decorations at night firsthand, he understood the wonder in McCree’s eyes during all those years when he talked about _luminarias_. He had to agree, there was nothing quite like them.

“Say,” McCree began, mouthful of crumbs, “How ‘bout we try _sopapillas_ tomorrow?”

Genji leaned down to kiss McCree’s cheek and grinned, “You read my mind.”


End file.
